The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001*, on the World Trade Center in New York City resulted in the deaths of more than 2,700 people.1 Nearly 2 decades later, that number may soon be exceeded by the more than 2,000 deaths—and climbing—of first responders to the attack, including firefighters,...
The finding that women have a higher incidence of lung cancer than men of the same age and with the same smoking history was unexpected when it first emerged from studies in the 1990s. Just as unexpected was a subsequent finding. Even with their higher risk, women have a lower mortality and higher...
To improve cancer outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa, a collaborative project from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®), the African Cancer Coalition (ACC), the American Cancer Society, and others recently entered a new phase in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Oncologists from 11 African...
This past June, the University of Pennsylvania established the Mark Foundation Center for Immunotherapy, Immune Signaling, and Radiation to study the role interferon and pattern recognition receptor signaling transduction pathways play in modulating the immune system’s ability to recognize and...
In the early fall of 2015, my daughter and I were on our way to our favorite nail salon to get picture-perfect ready for a gala later that evening at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York, when I got a call from my gynecologist saying I had “flunked my Pap test.” The Pap smear showed...
Earlier this year, ramucirumab was approved as a single agent for hepatocellular carcinoma in patients who have an alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) level ≥ 400 ng/mL and have been previously treated with sorafenib.1,2 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval was based on findings in the double-blind phase III...
On September 12, 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced the updated number of confirmed and probable cases of lung disease associated with e-cigarette product use, or vaping. The new case count is the first national aggregate based on the new CDC case definition...
Through its community grants program, the Prevent Cancer Foundation is supporting 10 projects that are focused on increasing cancer prevention and early detection in communities across the United States, from Honolulu to Baltimore. The projects were selected through a competitive grants process,...
The ASCO Post is pleased to reproduce installments of the Art of Oncology as published previously in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. These articles focus on the experience of suffering from cancer or of caring for people diagnosed with cancer, and they include narratives, topical essays,...
An international study has revealed the origin of mucinous ovarian cancer, confirming that unlike other types of ovarian cancer, this cancer arises from benign and borderline precursors at the ovaries and are not extraovarian metastases. These findings were published by Cheasley et al in Nature...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Naumann et al, the phase I/II CheckMate 358 trial found that nivolumab showed activity in a cohort of patients with recurrent or metastatic cervical, vaginal, or vulvar squamous cell carcinoma. Study Details A total of 24 patients were enrolled...
In a Chinese phase III trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Zhang et al found that the addition of gemcitabine/cisplatin induction chemotherapy to standard platinum-based chemoradiotherapy improved recurrence-free survival vs chemoradiotherapy alone in locoregionally advanced...
According to the American Cancer Society, excluding skin cancers, colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in both men and women in the United States and the second most common cause of cancer deaths. This year, it is expected that more than 51,000 people will die of the malignancy....
The monoclonal antibody daratumumab has been widely embraced for the treatment of multiple myeloma, but for newly diagnosed patients, its benefit has been proved only in some patients, according to Craig Hofmeister, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Medicine at the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory...
Two recent studies showed varying degrees of the effectiveness of mammography in different populations. In a report published in Radiology, Gao et al showed that in men at high risk for breast cancer, screening mammography may be able to increase the rate of detection of early-stage disease....
The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) has selected 26 members to receive the ASTRO Fellow (FASTRO) designation. The 2019 class of Fellows were recognized during ASTRO’s 61st Annual Meeting in Chicago. The ASTRO Fellows program recognizes individuals who have made significant...
Andreas Rimner, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses study findings showing that, for patients with stage III non–small cell lung cancer, durvalumab reduced the rate of and time to disease progression vs placebo and also reduced the number of new distant lesions (Abstract LBA6).
Earlier this month, The Lasker Foundation announced the recipients of its 2019 Lasker Awards for clinical and basic research and public service. Lasker~DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award H. Michael Shepard, PhD,formerly of Genentech, Dennis J. Slamon, MD, PhD, of the University of California,...
As reported by Arnold and colleagues in The Lancet Oncology, the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership Cancer Survival in High-Income Countries (SURVMARK-2) project has found general improvement in cancer survival between 1995 and 2014 in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand,...
OCE Insights is a periodic column developed for The ASCO Post by members of the Oncology Center of Excellence (OCE) at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In this first installment, Vishal Bhatnagar, MD, Acting Associate Director of Patient Outcomes; Bellinda King-Kallimanis, PhD, Senior...
At a press conference at McGill University, Stand Up To Cancer Canada (SU2C Canada), the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS), and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) announced the launch of the SU2C Canada Metastatic Breast Cancer Dream Team to pursue the development of a new drug...
Although between 8% and 12% of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer harbor a BRAF gene mutation, not all non-V600 BRAF alterations respond to EGFR antibody treatment, according to findings from a study by Yaeger et al published in Clinical Cancer Research. The study investigated whether...
Two topics that hematologists are currently grappling with were addressed at the 2019 Debates and Didactics Conference in Sea Island, Georgia, sponsored by Emory University Winship Cancer Institute, by Editor-in-Chief of The ASCO Post, James O. Armitage, MD, FASCO.1 They focus on the emerging role ...
Findings from a recent SWOG study could cast doubt on the generalizability of treatment effects observed in positive clinical trials, especially among underinsured patients. According to data presented at the 2019 ASCO Quality Care Symposium,1 patients with Medicaid or no insurance had no observed...
In patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, isatuximab in combination with pomalidomide and low-dose dexamethasone nearly doubled progression-free survival when compared with pomalidomide and dexamethasone alone, with a manageable safety profile, according to data from a phase III...
Today, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) released the AACR Cancer Progress Report 2019, which highlights how research largely supported by federal investments in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is spurring improvements in public health and innovations across the spectrum...
The 2019 International Initiative on Thrombosis and Cancer (ITAC) has issued updated clinical practice guidelines for the treatment and prophylaxis of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in patients with cancer. They were published by Farge et al in The Lancet Oncology. The guidelines consist of...
Andreas Rimner, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, presented an update of the landmark PACIFIC trial at the 61st Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) (Abstract LBA-6). In earlier reports from the randomized phase III trial, Antonia et al had evaluated...
In the POLO trial, which is discussed in this issue of The ASCO Post, Golan and colleagues evaluated the potential benefit of maintenance olaparib after disease stability or response to a minimum of 4 months of platinum-based chemotherapy in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer and a...
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Talia Golan, MD, of Sheba Medical Center, Tel Aviv University, and colleagues, the phase III POLO trial showed that maintenance treatment with the poly (ADP ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor olaparib improved progression-free survival vs...
On September 13, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a drug safety communication warning that palbociclib, ribociclib, and abemaciclib—used to treat some patients with advanced breast cancer—may cause rare but severe inflammation of the lungs. The agency approved new warnings about...
Following the closure of nearly 100 women’s health clinics across the United States from 2010 to 2013, fewer women were screened for cervical cancer; more women were diagnosed with advanced stages of the disease; and disease mortality rates rose. Findings from a new analysis combining several...
Non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for the vast majority of all lung cancers—between 80% and 85% of those diagnosed in the United States—and is among the most deadly cancers for both men and women, exceeding the mortality rate of colon, breast, and pancreatic cancers combined. The results...
The randomized, phase II ORIOLE trial studying the efficacy of targeted high-dose radiation for men with oligometastatic prostate cancer has shown that stereotactic ablative radiation (SABR) is an effective and safe option for patients who wish to delay hormone-suppression therapy. Data from the...
In a systematic review and network meta-analysis reported in The Lancet Oncology, Giuliano et al found that progression-free survival in postmenopausal women with hormone receptor (HR)-positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer was improved with first- or second-line CDK4/6 inhibitors plus...
The battle against cancer is typically waged by the surgeon and oncologist, but a Lexington, Kentucky–based, award-winning restaurateur and chef discovered her role as a foot soldier when she applied her culinary skills to deal with the debilitating side effects of her mother’s lung cancer...
Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Breakthrough Therapy designation to tepotinib for metastatic non–small cell lung cancer harboring MET exon 14 skipping alterations, and Orphan Drug designations to novel chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapies in both multiple myeloma ...
Patients with stage IV squamous non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with high programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression treated with atezolizumab and chemotherapy experienced longer overall survival rates than those treated with chemotherapy alone. The data from the IMpower131 trial were...
Nadine Housri, MD, of the Yale School of Medicine, talks about a new paradigm in sharing knowledge from tumor board discussions at NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers, with community oncologists on themednet.org. Currently, thoracic, breast, and GI cancers are included, with plans to expand ...
The emergence of online technologies over the past few decades has fundamentally changed the way society communicates and shares information. This sea change has also had profound influence on the practice of medicine, from real-time information-sharing among colleagues, to having instant access...
In an Australian phase Ia/b trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Friedlander et al found evidence of activity of the combination of the poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitor pamiparib and the programmed cell death protein 1 inhibitor tislelizumab in patients with previously treated advanced...
Compared with treatment with nonplatinum-based chemotherapy, monotherapy with the PARP (poly [ADP ribose] polymerase) inhibitor olaparib led to statistically significant and clinically relevant improvements in overall response rate and progression-free survival in women with germline...
On September 10, The Lasker Foundation announced the winners of its 2019 Lasker Awards: Max D. Cooper, MD, of Emory University, and Jacques Miller, AC, FRS, FAA, of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, will receive the Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award; H. Michael...
Pooled data on two clinical trials demonstrated patients with previously treated non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with nivolumab had a greater than fivefold increase in 5-year overall survival rate compared to treatment with the chemotherapy docetaxel. Scott Gettinger, MD, of Yale...
On August 15, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a proposed rule to require new health warnings on cigarette packages and in advertisements to promote greater public understanding of the negative health consequences of smoking. The proposed warnings, which feature photo-realistic...
The National Library of Medicine, located in Bethesda, Maryland, was started in 1836 as a small collection of medical books and journals in the office of the U.S. Army Surgeon General. In the ensuing years, the library grew to become the world’s largest and most prestigious biomedical library, with ...
In 1994, I was a normal, active 15-year-old, who loved cars, sports, and rock music, especially songs from my favorite group, The Clash. In fact, it was while jubilantly dancing alone in my room to one of their tunes that I vomited into my hands, an early symptom of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). I...
“Live while you’re living, friends,” writes Julie Yip-Williams in her memoir, The Unwinding of the Miracle: A Memoir of Life, Death, and Everything That Comes After. It was The New York Times bestseller when she died of stage IV colon cancer at the age of 42. She is the most recent of several...
On July 30, 2019, pembrolizumab was approved for the treatment of patients with recurrent locally advanced or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus whose tumors express programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1; Combined Positive Score [CPS] ≥ 10), as determined by a U.S. Food and Drug...
The ASCO Post is pleased to reproduce installments of the Art of Oncology as published previously in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. These articles focus on the experience of suffering from cancer or of caring for people diagnosed with cancer, and they include narratives, topical essays,...